Verdes F.C. (previously Hankook Verdes) is a Belizean association football club which competes in the
Premier League of Belize. They are currently based in
San Ignacio, Belize, a town situated in the district of
Cayo,
Belize. The club was established in 1976 as Real Verdes Football Club and changed their name to Hankook Verdes in 2004. They are now known only as Verdes F.C, locally being called only Verdes. The club is one of the oldest active professional football teams in Belize and has been in existence since the inception of the
Football Federation of Belize. Their home games are played at
Norman Broaster Stadium.
The club has established an excellent reputation for the development of many past and current members of the
Belize national football team, despite not having won any club championships at the national level until 2008. Verdes F.C. had previously won the amateur
Belize National Football Association championship in 1986.[1] In 2004, Hankook Verdes F.C. announced that they would opt out of the
Belize Premier Football League due to unprofessional conduct, including late arrivals by officials and the other team, prior to a match against
Kulture Yabra.[2] Verdes F.C.'s recent league championships include the opening season of the
2019–20 Premier League of Belize and both seasons of the
2021–22 FFB Top League, where they went undefeated.[3][4] The club would later win the
2022–23 Closing season.
Verdes F.C. appeared in three consecutive editions of the
CONCACAF League from 2020 to 2022 and were the second Belizean club to participate in the tournament.[6] Their first attempt in 2020 was halted by a
COVID-19 outbreak among the players and the need to quarantine in Panama rather than being able to transit to the
CONCACAF League venue in
Santo Domingo. Their preliminary round match was cancelled and their opponents, Haitian side
Arcahaie FC, was awarded a 3–0
walkover victory.[7] In 2022, they became the first Belizean club to win a competitive series in the competition.[8][9]